Studies on the properties of organic matter in buried humic horizon derived from volcanic ash

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Abstract
To investigate the relationship between age and the sugar composition in hydrolysates of the surface horizon and buried humic horizons with age up to 28,000 years B.P., the neutral sugars and amino sugars in soil hydrolysates were determined. The ratios of total sugar carbon content to total carbon content of soil ranged from 2.68 to 4.13 percent. These values showed no distinct relationship with age. Rhamnose, fucose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, galactose, glucose, g1ucosamine and galactosamine were present in the hydrolysates of all soil samples. The polysaccharides of soil samples which have been buried for shorter periods were dominated by glucose, while those of soil samples buried for longer periods were dominated by mannose. The proportion of hexoses showed a tendency to increase with age, while that of pentoses showed a tendency to decrease with age.